Garlic Butter Accordion Potatoes (Hasselback Potatoes)

A number of teenagers in my neighborhood sold potatoes as a fundraiser for some school function or another, so this fall, I ended up with 75+ pounds of potatoes to use fairly quickly.  Needless to say, we tried out many new potato recipes!  The shape of these potatoes was kind of fun for my kids.  And, it was a delicious way to try something different!

Garlic Butter Accordian Potatoes

adapted slightly from: delish.com

1 1/2 pounds small potatoes

1/4 c. butter, melted

1/4 c. oil

1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with tinfoil, and spray the foil with cooking spray.  Wash and dry each potato, and then make thin slits in each, like an accordion.  Be careful not to cut all the way through (sometimes I accidentally did, and it is not that big of a deal, they are just more fun when they are a whole potato with accordion slits!).  In a small bowl, stir together the butter, oil and garlic.  Using a basting brush, spread the butter mixture over the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then bake them for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes the potatoes will begin to fan out (you may have to gently help them with this).  Brush them with the butter mixture again, and sprinkle them with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.  Bake them again for 25-30 minutes, or until they are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.  Serve warm and enjoy!  

Quinoa Salad with Avocado, Corn and Saute'd Tomatoes

 

I made this one evening, with the intent to take some to a vegetarian friend for lunch the next day.  It ended up being an amazing, light, summer-y salad, that not only got rave reviews from my friend, but also my own family.  

Quinoa Salad With Avocado, Corn and Grilled Tomatoes

adapted from: two peas & their pod

1 c. quinoa, cooked according to the package directions and cooled to room temperature

1 c. frozen sweet corn, cooked and cooled to room temperature

1/3 c. chopped cilantro

1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

2 avocados, chopped (pit and skin removed first)

tomatoes (as many as you like-we're not huge tomato fans around here, so we only had a few), chopped into 1 inch chunks and lightly saute'd 

For the dressing:

1/4 c. olive oil

juice of 2 limes

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

1/4 tsp. cumin

fresh ground salt and pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, corn, cilantro, Parmesan cheese, avocado and grilled tomatoes.  In another bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, cumin and salt and pepper.  Here is a tip for juicing limes, given to me by Monica.  Before you slice them, pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds.  When they are warm, you will be able to get so much more juice out of them!  When your dressing is well mixed, pour it over the top of your salad and stir it gently to combine.  Serve it fresh or chilled.  It is delicious either way!

Fresh Asparagus Omelette with Smoked Gouda and Hollandaise Sauce

The other day, I went to lunch with some friends and one of them ordered the most amazing omelette I had ever tasted.  So I recreated it.  And although it was a little more time intensive than I normally like, it got easier the second time around (I made it again a couple of days later for Lynnette).  I had to research how to make the perfect omelette and found a great blog that gave a step by step guide (http://confessionsofaplateaddict.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-to-make-best-omelette-you-will-ever.html) .  I also found an easy blender hollandaise sauce recipe.  In the end, I have made this as easy as I could for posterity's sake.  But I don't think you'll be disappointed in the amount of effort.  The Gouda and the asparagus with the omelette were amazing.  It really is one of the most delicious egg recipes I have ever had!


Fresh Asparagus Omelette with Smoked Gouda and Hollandaise Sauce


3 eggs
2 Tbsp. milk
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. butter
4-5 asparagus stalks
1 small tomato, diced
1/4-1/2 c. shredded smoked Gouda cheese
Hollandaise sauce (see recipe below)


To start off, steam your asparagus.  When the asparagus is tender, take it off the heat and set it aside.  Then make the hollandaise sauce and set it aside.  You will want to keep it warm if you can.  I kept mine on the stove top, where I had heat from my steaming asparagus and then my cooking omelette.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a wire whisk.  You will want to beat them for a couple of minutes, until they are very frothy.  Add the milk and salt and pepper to taste.  Melt the butter in your pan.  Add the tomatoes and cook them for a couple of minutes, or until slightly tender.  Then pour in your egg, over the top of the tomatoes.  For instructions on how to cook the omelette (there is no shame in not knowing, I had to research like crazy) read the above link, or this one helped, too: http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/eggsdairy/r/omelet.htm

So, according to those lovely directions, cook the omelette.  When the omelette is close to being done, place the steamed asparagus on one side and then sprinkle the gouda over the entire thing.  Let it cook for a few more minutes.  You may want to put a lid on the pan to help the gouda melt.  I didn't.  But, it might have helped my cheese to melt a little better.  Fold the omelette in half, over the top of the asparagus and put it on a plate.  Pour the hollandaise sauce over the top of the whole thing.  Then sit back, (finally) relax and enjoy the fruits of all that hard work!



Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce
adapted from: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_blender_hollandaise_sauce/


3 egg yolks
pinch of chili powder
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 c. warm water


Melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Try not to let it boil.  Put the egg yolks, chili powder, lemon juice and salt in the blender and mix it at a medium high speed until it lightens in color, about 30 seconds.  Turn the blender to its lowest setting and slowly add in the melted butter.  Continue to blend for a couple more seconds after the butter is all incorporated.  If you want yours a little thinner, add the warm water and blend it again.  It should taste buttery, lemony and a little bit salty.  If you need to add a little more lemon or a little more salt, just blend it well after you add it.  (The link gives more detail on the creaminess and flavor, if you are interested)  

Crispy Eggplant Parmesan

Before this recipe I had never tried Eggplant Parmesan (in all honesty, I had never eaten eggplant at all) and so when a friend gave me one of her eggplants, fresh from her garden, I decided to see why people actually like it so much.  (I mean it’s a weird, squeaky veggie in place of meat.)  Everyone told me how much they love Eggplant Parmesan, and so as I was searching for a great recipe online, I found this one that the people raved about in the reviews, and now I see why.  It was really delicious, and to tell you the truth, I absolutely loved the eggplant in it!  I even preferred it over chicken (although my husband will always prefer everything with meat:)

One note I will add about this recipe is that in the end, there wasn’t enough sauce to use for our pasta as well.  I added some of our favorite tomato-basil pasta sauce from a jar to eat over our pasta. (We like a lot of sauce in our family.)  So if you’re planning on eating it with pasta, I would either double the sauce or have an extra jar on hand if you need more.

Crispy Eggplant Parmesan

Adapted from Food Network.com

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. canola oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 tbsp. chopped garlic

Dash red pepper flakes (to taste- I like it less spicy)

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

½ can crushed tomatoes (or 2-3 fresh tomatoes)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup flour

1 egg

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup dried Italian bread crumbs or Panko mixed with Italian seasonings

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 tbsp. grated Parmesan, divided

1 eggplant

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2-3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Directions:

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the canola oil. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, to taste Bring to a simmer and let cook for 10 minutes. . (I used fresh tomatoes and allowed to simmer for 30 minutes.  I also added fresh basil.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Set up a breading station using 3 baking dishes. In the first dish, add the flour and season with salt and pepper, to taste. In the second dish whisk the eggs with 1/4 cup water. In the third dish combine the bread crumbs, cornmeal, 1 tablespoon Parmesan and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Slice the eggplant into 3/4-inch slices. Dredge them in flour, then in the egg wash and then in the bread crumbs.

Set a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet and arrange the eggplant slices on the cooling rack.  Bake in oven until crispy, about 30-35 minutes

Turn the oven to broil. Put the eggplant, overlapping, into a baking dish. Cover eggplants with about a cup of sauce and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese and remaining tablespoon of Parmesan. Put under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 3 to 4 minutes. For last minute under broiler, sprinkle fresh basil on top to garnish.

Serve over linguine pasta with remaining sauce.  Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Get ready everyone, this is a good one. Don't just walk, run to your local grocer and buy up all the sweet potatoes you can because you will want to make these over and over again (unless of course you don't like sweet potatoes, in which case you will probably just scroll over this post really quickly).

I got these from the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I didn't actually read the book, but we were supposed to for book group last month and so the host made these dandies for us all to try. Yum.

Here you are:

SWEET POTATO QUESADILLAS

2 medium sweet potatoes

1/2 onion

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp basil

1 tsp cumin

chile powder to taste

olive oil for sauté

Cut sweet potatoes into chunks, cook in steamer basket or microwave until soft, then mash. Chop and sauté garlic and onion in a large skillet. Add spices and sweet potato, mix well, adding a little water if it’s too sticky. Turn burner very low to keep warm without burning.

4 flour tortillas

4 oz. Brie or other medium soft cheese

2-3 leaves Swiss Chard (or other greens) Preheat oven to 400. Oil a large baking sheet, spread tortillas on it to lightly oil one side, then spread filling on half of each. Top with slices of Brie and shredded chard, then fold tortillas to close (oiled side out). Bake until browned and crisp (about 15 min.), cut into wedges for serving.

I changed quite a few things and it was still divine.

First, I went a little easy on the spices. However, I thought it could have used more so next time I'm going to do it as the recipe states (what a concept!).

Next, I nixed the Swiss Chard and the Brie and just went with Mozzarella because that's what I had shredded in my fridge. I know that the host who made these from book group used spinach and I'm going to try that next time I make these.

I also didn't bake mine (because my oven is currently dead) and instead I just did them one at a time on our griddle.

Did I say "Yum" yet?

Yum.

The original recipe came from here.

Black Bean Tostadas

Recently James decided he was a sugar addict. He came to this conclusion one day after he had 3 bowls of Butterfinger ice cream, 2 crispy cream donuts (the Chocolate Iced Cream Filled ones) and 3/4 of a package of chocolate covered wafers. Not only did this combination of foods not bother his stomach at all, but he had to work hard to keep himself from eating a third donut. Clearly this was a problem.

So, he went on a diet. A very serious diet. So serious in fact that I forced him to quit because

a) it was ridiculously expensive and

b) it took way too much time to think about/prepare/eat the food.

I couldn't handle it.

But, because of his failed effort (and because we watched Food Inc.-which I don't recommend unless you can sell one of your kidneys in order to feed your family organic foods and not crappy beef (pun intended)), we have been trying to eat more healthy and less meat. It's not very easy.

But I am trying, and this is one recipe I have to show for it.

Here we go...

Black Bean Tostadas

(adapted from Eat Better America)

3	8 inch flour tortillas
4	teaspoons olive oil
3	green onions, chopped
1	can black beans, rinsed and drained
1	cup chopped seeded tomato
1	cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack, cheddar, or mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
2	tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1	clove garlic, minced
1	T green chilis

1.	Preheat oven to 425°F. Place tortillas on an ungreased baking sheet. Lightly brush tortillas on both sides with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Bake about 3 minutes; turn. Bake about 3 minutes more until lightly browned and crisp.
2.	Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 3 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, green chilis, and garlic; cook until onion is tender. Stir in black beans and tomato; heat through.
3.	Sprinkle tortillas with half of the cheese. Spoon the bean mixture over the cheese. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese. Bake about 4 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with cilantro.

We ate these with sour cream and salsa and the were wonderful. I was very pleased with the result. And we were vegetarians for one whole meal. I'm pretty proud.